Arena Auditorium Renderings...

[LawPoke]

So I was looking on the UW athletics page and happened upon this planning document from this March. I had not seen this before, but it does have some renderings of potential refurbishment of the AA. The main set of pictures is toward the end...starting on the page listed as Arena Auditorium 18 (or so). Perhaps others had seen this...but I had not.

http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...misc_non_event/2012_facilities_masterplan.pdf

 

[fromolwyoming]

Wow. Looks like they may even gut the entire AA almost, not to mention taking out the grassy hills surrounding it.

 

[whyoh]

smith arena? will brett be making a major contribution with his future nfl funds?



as much as the concourse needs this improvement, it will be a little sad to see the legion of doom entrances go away

 

[Bryoming]

This would be an absolutely incredible renovation. The AA could use a facelift, and these plans would make it one of the premier arenas in the region.

 

[mrtnt3x]

So from I get there will be a decrease of 3000 seats bringing the capacity to 12,000 which I think is the smallest that we should have.

 

[whyoh]

So from I get there will be a decrease of 3000 seats bringing the capacity to 12,000 which I think is the smallest that we should have.

the absolute smallest

 

[laxwyo]

I think Sailors Arena has a better ring to it!

 

[J-Rod]

Wow....major upgrade.

 

[whyoh]

I think Sailors Arena has a better ring to it!

one of these days i will find/make a gif of earl hickey nodding in agreement and that will become the most overused pic in my arsenal

 

[Aaron]

I'm not sure if I like it. I may learn to like it. But if they change the placement of my seats or put it next to those ridiculous suits (which block vision of 1/3 of the court just like the Wildcatter) I will be FUCKING PISSED OFF.

 

[Cuttslam]

I'm not diggin the court layout, but seeing is believing. I do like the new concourse and exterior however.

 

[LawPoke]

I agree. The concourse and new entrance looks first class. The court, with the big block taken out for fat cat seating, does not do much for me. Maybe stretch the box and club seating across the top - and not cut down into the bowl. The telescoping seating makes for wierd angles too. And the ribbon boards are nice, but it looks like they were trying too hard to find places to put them...

 

[WyoExpat]

So from I get there will be a decrease of 3000 seats bringing the capacity to 12,000 which I think is the smallest that we should have.

the absolute smallest

My understanding is that we are going down to 10K-something. It will be under 11K from what I have heard. Can you believe that we had something closer to 16K once upon a time and when the program was really rolling, we AVERAGED 10K+. That number, of course combined sell-out crowds and much smaller crowds.

In the future, we have to assume that the small crowds will stay equally small. We just will not be able to have the big crowds to balance them out. People will not buy Arkansas State tickets as a substitute for the end-of-season games against rivals with the conference title on the line.

This is one case where the decision-makers really are not thinking about how math really works. I am so frustrated that donors are putting so much money toward this plan to eliminate 1/3 the of potential for Pokes basketball.

Here is the information from official docuemnts that decision-makers are working from:

"How will you define success in 5-10 years? Will that change how your program operates or interacts
with other programs?
• Recruiting will be more challenging. Facilities will play a bigger role. Facilities are good.
Need all the new bells and whistles. Ribbon board, etc.
• Reduce seating capacity to 8-10,000 to make the building look more full . Create a better
atmosphere. Would play in a 4,000 seat facility if possible."

This is from Coach Legerski. (Notably, Tom Burman provided the interview responses on behalf of Men's basketball) My guess is that Coach Shyatt would want to have the ability to play in front of the kind of 13K+ crowds that he remembers.)
See page #10 = http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools...misc_non_event/2012_facilities_masterplan.pdf

 

[BeaverPoke]

I just want to win.

 

[Bryoming]

This is from Coach Legerski.

Not surprising. We have pretty solid attendance for women's basketball as compared to the rest of the region, but the AA holds way more people than they can consistently draw. The girls could go back to playing in the field house if Legerski wants the crowds to be more compact, but there's no way he would sacrifice a state-of-the-art facility to get that.

12.5K is the number I keep hearing for seating in the AA, which is fine by me. I was there for the record crowd against Utah in 2002, which was around 17K if I remember right. It was amazing, but there's no way the fire marshall would let people stand in the aisles ever again. (Hell, they almost shut it down that night.) We averaged around 10.5K that season, so a 12.5K arena would be just about perfect.

 

[johnywyo]

If we continue on the trajectory we currently are, and the recruiting does not improve we will be quite fortunate to hang a 7000 attendance game with CSU. This thing is unwinding as we approach the MWC schedule. Shyatt can only coach as good as the players that he gives scholarships to. Beyond LN, the cupboards are bare. Unbelievable, and incredibly poor job in the selection of players thus far in recruiting. Just an observation that deserves some real discourse.

 

[NowherePoke]

If we continue on the trajectory we currently are, and the recruiting does not improve we will be quite fortunate to hang a 7000 attendance game with CSU. This thing is unwinding as we approach the MWC schedule. Shyatt can only coach as good as the players that he gives scholarships to. Beyond LN, the cupboards are bare. Unbelievable, and incredibly poor job in the selection of players thus far in recruiting. Just an observation that deserves some real discourse.

It's going to get worse before it gets better (if it ever does). The 2014 class is speculative (being nice) as well.

It's time to cut losses with several of these schollies and try to add some JC help in the spring. Need a JC big and a JC wing scorer. Basically need to try to duplicate what McClain pulled off when he brought in Taylor and Spencer and we need to make the same types of compromises that McClain made.

It's hard to muster any enthusiasm for UW athletics anymore.

 

[WyoExpat]

Basically need to try to duplicate what McClain pulled off when he brought in Taylor and Spencer and we need to make the same types of compromises that McClain made.

It's hard to muster any enthusiasm for UW athletics anymore.

The compromises that McClain made cost us scholarships. Therefore they were not available for any kind of player, illiterate thugs or otherwise. The APR exists to prevent schools making those compromises.

We do need another big more than anything.

To put this team in perspective, Josh Davis would probably need to play the 5 on this team simply because he would be the biggest player we could put on the court. We need another Ugo or bigger--not another Taylor.